BHUBANESWAR: Weeks after the carcass of a dead elephant in Kandhamal district’s Belghar was chopped and buried in neighbouring Kalahandi, the Forest and Environment department has slapped a show cause notice on Ghanashyam Mahanta, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Baliguda, for serious lapses in investigation of the sensational incident.
Mahanta has been asked to explain within 15 days why he should not face disciplinary action.
The elephant was found dead in Jhiripani section of Belghar range under Baliguda forest division on January 5 but almost two weeks later, it emerged that the carcass has been chopped into 32 pieces, shifted twice and buried to destroy evidence.
The show cause notice issued by principal secretary to Forest and Environment department Bhaskar Jyoti Sarma pointed at glaring negligence and lapses in probe of the death of a schedule-1 animal.
The letter revealed that Mahanta’s memo on January 22 informed about detection of the elephant carcass by three squad members and deputy range officer Binaya Bishi shifting it first to Kadapana nursery near Belghar and then to Kantesir village under Kesinga range of Kalahandi (north) division.
“It is surprising to note that being the DFO, you could get the information of the incidence only after a lapse of 9 days that too from media personnel,” the letter stated.
As the head of the forest division, Mahanta was required to visit the area immediately but he sent assistant conservator of forest Suryakanta Behera for enquiry. This, the letter said, spoke of the DFO’s negligence and dereliction of statutory duty.
Despite being aware about the incidence, Mahanta did not conduct the enquiry himself and entrusted it to another ACF Manoranjan Bagha which pointed at his casual and responsibility shifting attitude, the letter said, adding “You also did not take any step to ascertain the cause of death of the elephant and detect the offenders”.
Detection of the dead elephant on January 5 required that the DFO submit the preliminary report to the chief wildlife warden, collector, regional chief conservator of forests and the government within 24 hours which Mahanta did not and violated the guidelines.
“Your report prima facie and subsequent action taken by your staff to suppress the incidence indicates regarding unnatural death of the elephant (schedule-l animal) and connivance of the staff in commission of offence, which needs thorough and timely enquiry to ascertain the offenders and their arrest. But no action has been taken by you as of now in this regard,” stated the letter seen by this paper.